Hello, welcome to my first attempt at doing a fanfic, and what I hope will be a series. In my attempt to throw my hat for my favorite couple, I wanted to do a retelling of the relationship between Sadayo Kawakami and Akira Kurusu. Their circumstantial meeting, the bond that grows as they get to know each other and where that path will lead them. The story will follow the game events, but there will be changes that will happen, some small some large, but I hope that you will enjoy the ride.

Before I start I want to give thanks to those in the appreciation thread that gave me the confidence to give this a try, to Mizutanitony for his story inspired me (If you haven't read it yet and are interested in some great Akira/Sadayo stories I highly recommend it) and our discussions always helped me wanting to continue forward and coming up with ideas, I hope not to disappoint, and my wife who has been very supportive in my decision to write this and has helped examine my work.

Also to note, the first six chapters of this where already posted in but I will be updating both of these as I continue forward.

EDIT: The main character's name for the series has been stated as Ren Amamiya, but I as like many grew to really like the name Akira Kurusu so I will continue to use it.

Edit:This chapter has been updated since 8/14/2018. Thanks goes again to Chessicfayth for their help.

I don't own these characters as they belong to Atlus.

Prologue

It was evening in Tokyo, Streetlights flicker on as many began to head home, from clubs, works or other activities. A number of stores proceed to close, even as other swing to the night shifts. For many it is the time in which they finally get to relax and recharge, preparing for the next day. For Sadayo Kawakami though, it just meant the start of her night jobs.

Sadayo had just arrived back to her apartment, finishing her evening meal (takeout, again). She had just finished walking the neighborhood dogs, and was exhausted as she dropped her bag and fell face first onto her couch. Turning her head to the window, she rubbed her eyes as she saw as the last of the daylight disappear into the night, and prepared to finally get some rest.

Just as she managed to drift off, her phone chimes, the particular ringtone stirring feelings of dread. There was a request open for her if she was free. She glowered at her phone and gave a tired sigh, wishing she could ignore it. There was no chance of saying no though, not while she was behind for the week; and she had to worry about her living expenses as well. Resigned to this fact, she responded with a confirmation and went to get changed. It was just one more thing.

Once she had changed into her uniform she went to the mirror in her bathroom. After washing her face and while starting on her hair, she reflected on the last month. April had been crazy, even by her own standards. It had all started with the arrival of her newest source of stress, Akira Kurusu. The boy that had been transferred to Shujin after having been expelled from his previous school. For some unfathomable reason, the principal permitted his transfer to the school. This would had been bad enough by itself, but it had been made worse by the fact that his expulsion was due to an assault charge. Having that kind of problem student would almost certainly cause a lot of eyes to turn their gaze to Shujin. Eyes she didn't want looking her way. A pipe dream, since he had been placed in her classroom.

"Only one with an open seat my ass... They probably shoved him with me cause they didn't want him causing problem to the other teachers." she muttered in frustration as finished putting up one of the pigtails.

And as she feared, he didn't waste time at all to causing problems. Not only was he incredibly late on his first day, but it was obvious that he was lying about his reasons, not to mention later on he was asking about the school being a castle for some reason. Then there is the fact that he also started associating with Sakamoto-kun, even after she'd warned him off! And to end it all off, word of his criminal record had already spread all over school before the day ended. So now she had to also deal with all of the rumors flying about. She sighed again. It was just one more thing.

As she finished with her hair, Stared stared at what seemed a very different person, it always surprised her how much one's appearance could change with a few alterations. Not that she minded; it meant that it was less likely for people to recognize her while working as a maid, and now that Ms. Chouno was looking and prying her nose into everyone's business, being harder to recognize was a good thing. The other teachers had been o everyone's case since the incident with Kamoshida...

She grimaced at the thought of the man, a wave of regret started washing over her. Telling herself she didn't know was of small comfort. She couldn't help but think if she'd been more involved, tried harder, she could have prevented it. If she'd just paid attention like she had with...

Sadayo shook herself of the thought, and looked down at the sink as the water continue to run from the faucet into the basin.

For the longest time she had thought Kamoshida a very capable teacher and a good man. He was boastful, but seemed to be very proud of his volleyball team, and had worked hard to give the school a good reputation. While there had been some complaints about how he ran the team, she just figured they were exaggerations spread by troublemakers and students too lazy for the former Olympian's training. She had been very impressed with how he didn't let those rumors get to him, she admired that strength, just a bit. When he had mentioned to her that he was going to discuss Kurusu, Sakamoto and Mishima-kun's expulsion during the next meeting, she had to admit that part of her was relieved. While she found it odd that Mishima-kun was included, she knew Sakamoto-kun had a grudge against Kamoshida and had been causing a lot of problems with the school. She wasn't even surprised to hear that Kurusu-kun was part of it, considering how (despite her warning to not do so) he had continued meeting with Sakamoto-kun. She thought he was finally going to be taken off her hands, finally get even a small break. But then something else had happened…

It had all started with those cards that had appeared all over the bulletin boards. A group calling themselves the Phantom Thieves of Hearts was making claims about what Kamoshida had done and that they would 'change his heart'. It had brought out a side of him that Sadayo had never seen before. He wandered the halls agitated, yelling at the students, trying to find out who did it. The next day though, Kamoshida didn't show up to school at all. In fact it seemed like he had shut himself in at his place. Because of this, any talk of the boys' expulsion had been put on hold,

Then on the School Morning Assembly at the beginning of may, Kamoshida showed up. He looked like the life had been drained out of him, talking about being "reborn" and that he needed to confess. He walked up the stage with everyone watching, students, teachers, and the principal. Then, much to the shock of everyone there began revealing all the horrid things that he had done. The Verbal abuse that he inflicted on students to push them into doing what he wanted. The physical abuse the members of his volleyball team had gone through, to the point of being beaten whenever Kamoshida needed an outlet. The sexual harassment of the female team that could do nothing but endure it while he treated them as toys for his amusemen. Then, finally, his admittance that he was to blame for the recent suicide attempt.

Everyone was quiet as he revealed everything, fear warring with shock and disbelief in the student body and faculty alike. The room seemed to freeze as Kamoshida offered not only his apology, but also his life, seemingly prepared to end it on stage before them. She remembered wondering, if he truly had committed all those acts as he said, then what could have caused him to feel such sudden shame and disgust in himself that he wanted to take his life? Those thoughts had been interrupted by Takamaki-chan's anger towards him, and it was very likely that she was the only reason he hadn't at least attempted it.

After all that had happened, many of the faculty members where in disarray. Some were worried about how it would affect the schools name, others were horrified at what the student had to go through, and some few seemed simply interested in moving on, not wanting to focus on what had just happened. Sadayo had been steeped in regret as the days went on. She hadn't bothered to look into her students lives, had avoided interacting with them as much as possible, and would leave as soon as she was able to go to her side jobs. But after something that shocking, after having been witness to such a confession, it had become harder and harder to not see what was going on around her. Things that she had previously not noticed became impossible to ignore, and things that she had paid no mind to suddenly had darker significance. How injured many of the volleyball team members had looked, the way he had approached Takamaki-chan, as well as the rumors being spread about her. The drastic change in attitude in Sakamoto-kun after Kamoshida was put in charge of the track team as well, and then its eventual disbandment. As she thought back on of all the things that she hadn't paid attention to, she started to wonder if maybe Kurusu-kun and Sakamoto-kun stood up against him for similar reasons. After all it seemed to have happen right after Suzui-chan's...

"Suzui-chan..." As she remembered what she had witnessed that afternoon she gripped her arms so tightly that she could feel a jolt of pain from doing so. "I really didn't know..."

She remained like that for a while, squeezing just a little tighter as the feeling of regret and guilt slowly started to envelop her, but snapped herself out of it once she noticed the time on her phone.. "Get a hold of yourself, nothing can be done about it now."

What happened couldn't be changed, she had failed to see what was going on and acting like she would have done anything different didn't matter. In the end there was nothing she could do to help and there was no point in trying to think about it, it was hard enough to act all cheerful without having to remember things like that.

She finished getting ready, and proceeded to head the client's residence. As she left her apartment she made sure not be seen by her neighbors. While not immediately recognizable when she wore her maid outfit, she was still paranoid of getting spotted like this. Sadayo had become used to treading carefully; she had learned where to walk to avoid as many people as possible, while not risking having to go through more suspicious or dangerous routes that could lead to her running into less than savory folks.

She eventually found herself in front of the apartment, was even a couple of minutes early, she psyched herself up, then took a deep breath to get herself mentally ready before ringing the doorbell. She put on her work smile, biting back yet another sigh. It was just one more thing.

DING DONG

"Good evening, I'm from the house keeping service!" The tone of her voice was much higher, and energetic. Sadayo had learned that a lot of customers preferred more cheerful and agreeable girls. If she acted normally (or even reasonably) they would complain about her dreary mood, and that would only lessen her already tiny amount of requests. So to avoid that, she tried to become someone else during her maid jobs. Becky was cheerful and eager to please. An always smiling girl who's greatest wish was to help her master relax... within limitations of course. She never enjoyed pretending to be Becky. It was very superficial and somewhat shameful. Not to mention she always came out feeling even more drained from keeping up the act. But it was necessary to maintain what little business she got.

She waited for a reply, but didn't hear much. Reaching for the door, she found it unlocked and easily opened. She was a bit nervous, but couldn't afford to waste time or alienate a potential new customer who might request her more. "Is it okay if I come in…?" She could hear voices coming from the room and went inside, removing her shoes by the door, but keeping it slightly ajar in case she needed to make a hasty exit

She followed the sounds into a small mostly empty room running into who was probably her client for the hour. "Oh, there you are!" Sadayo gave a curtsy to who would she be referring to as master for the time being. "Welcome home, Master. I'm going to fill your heart full of lovely energy. Meow!" She said as she gestured her hands as they were cat paws. "I'm Becky, and I'll have the pleasure of serving you today."

"Hello..." said her present Master as he continued to avoid facing her and scratched the back of his head.

That response allowed Sadayo to be a bit calmer of the situation 'Must be a first-timer, he'll probably be too nervous to ask anything too crazy.' with that she continued with her introduction. "Before we start, I should explain our services to you, Master! Our basics include cooking, cleaning, laundry…" Then a look of displeasure showed itself briefly in her face, allowed to her only because her Master as yet to face her. Still, she forced her work smile once more as she proceeded to move a little bit closer. "But there are other 'services' that we can provide if you desire." She said in a much more teasing tone as she leaned forward while placing her arms behind her.

As she came closer she notice that her client looked younger than she had been used to, or at least she thought he did as he continue to avoid eye contact. "My, you look quite young, Master. Are you… perhaps… in High School?" she said as she tilted her head with a coy smile.

"Yeah, you would be correct" he chuckled, responding without a second thought.

"Oh, Master, you're sooo Funny!" she giggled hoping that's all it was. But the awkward silence after her comment stretched on, all but shouting his guilt. 'Don't tell me...' "You are joking, right?" Her master's shaking head gave her the final confirmation and suddenly a cold shiver went down her spine. 'Shoot, I need to leave as soon as I can.'

Sadayo started to panic, grabbing both her arms as if she wanted to curl up. It was bad enough that a high school student called her, what if he was from Shujin? What if he recognized her!? Luckily the boy hadn't gotten a good look at her and still seemed reluctant to recognized her? All she needs to do now it's take her leave. "I think I'll hold off on those other "services" until you've matured a bit, Master." She proceeds to take a few steps backs, she did her best to be Becky, despite a growing urge to run before she was caught out. "Sooo. I think I'll be going then." She gave one final curtsy and was about to turn around towards the door when suddenly.

"Wh-what!? No!"

"Quiet...!"

Sadayo jumped at the sudden voices from beyond the door, and she rushed towards it. "I-Is someone there!?" That would be all she needed, someone to have followed her.

"Shit! Run, Mishima!"

"Hey! Don't leave me behind!"

"Mishima? Sakamoto-kun? She recognized Ryuji's loud voice calling out Mishima. That meant they where definitely from Shujin. 'W-wait, haven't Sakamoto-kun and Mishima-kun hanging out a lot with...' And with that realization she turned around, finally managing to focus through the exhaustion, though dreading to find out who the mysterious third person was. "And you..."

With the other two gone, she was left facing the worst possible student to find out about her maid job. Peering at her from behind his glasses as he gazed at her with a slightly confused look, head tilted to the side, was Akira Kurusu. This was so far beyond one more thing.

'Why did it have to be him...?'